Associated Press Published

Northern West Virginia Drug Task Force Shares Ideas

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A task force on drug abuse in northern West Virginia is emphasizing the need for more treatment programs and better education for parents on the signs of heroin addiction.

The Intelligencer reports that leaders of the Ohio Valley Addiction Action Plan Working Group shared the group’s ideas Wednesday at Wheeling Hospital. The panel was formed by U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld II in August to develop strategies to fight drug addiction.

Ihlenfeld said two-thirds of heroin addicts have a history of prescription painkiller abuse. He said increased demand for heroin coupled with a cheap supply of the drug through dealers from Chicago and New Jersey created perfect conditions for a drug epidemic in the Ohio Valley.